- Prakash Vir Shastri
-
Prakash Vir Shastri Member of Parliament In office
1958–1977Personal details Born December 30, 1923
Rehra, Uttar PradeshDied November 23, 1977
Uttar PradeshPolitical party Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha Residence Uttar Pradesh Religion Arya Samaj, Hindu Pandit Prakash Vir Shastri (December 30, 1923 - November 23, 1977) was a noted Member of the Parliament of India (Sansad).
Born on December 30, 1923 as Om Prakash Tyagi (Devanāgarī: अोउम प्रकाश त्यागी) in the village of Rehra to a sepoy father, he earned his Shastri degree from Banaras Hindu University.
Contents
Career
Shastri was born in the village of Rehra in the J.P. Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, earlier a part of Mudarabad. He was politically active as a young man, obtaining an M.A. degree from Agra University, and eventually rising to become Vice-Chancellor of Gurukul Vrindavan. Shastri was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1958 and from that time till his passing served in the Parliament as an Independent member of both the Lok Sabha [1] and Rajya Sabha.[2] He was elected as a Jana Sangh nominee in 1974.
Oratory style
Known for his eloquence and forceful oratory style as well as his mastery of the Sanskrit language, Shastri opposed to the official designation of English as the national language of India. He instead preferred Hindi, the country's classical native tongue. He was also known for his abilities as a poet, and incorporated his creative efforts into a number of his more well-known speeches. He was the first Indian to speak in Hindi at the United Nations Organization, with Atal Bihari Vajpayee being second.[3]
Religious activism
Shastri was also internationally recognized as a devotee of the Arya Samaj movement, a branch of Hinduism dedicated to the Vedas.[4] While he was tolerant of the diversity of approaches to the practice of Hinduism, he shied away from idolatry in his personal affairs and promoted the work of Swami Dayananda in his writing.
Shastri proposed the Religious Protection Bill in March 1960 in the Lok Sabha, which called for the protection of religious minorities in the face of mass conversions by force occurring across the country at the time.[5]
Train accident
Shastri was killed in a train accident on November 23, 1977. Shastri gave his seat to the man sleeping in the bunk below him, a sign of respect in Hindu culture as the lower bunk is closer to the ground. The man in the bunk above him survived, while Shastri lost his life. He was survived by a wife and two children.[6]
Pandit Prakash Vir Shastri Marg
In November 2002, North Avenue in New Delhi, leading from Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital to Rashtrapati Bhawan, was renamed Pandit Prakash Vir Shastri Marg. The avenue contains Gate 35, the main entrance to Rashtrapati Bhavan and spans the downtown district in New Delhi.[7][8]
Speech compilations
In early 2003, a collection of his parliamentary speeches was compiled for publication, in part by former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani.[9]
See also
- Pandit Prakash Vir Shastri Marg
- Arya Samaj
- Tyagi
- Shastri
References
- ^ "Government Member Roster - Fourth Lok Sabha Member Roster". http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/lok04/state/04lsup.htm. Retrieved May 6, 2007.
- ^ Election Commission of New Delhi (1962). "Key Highlights on General Elections, 1962 to the Third Lokh Sabha" (PDF). http://www.eci.gov.in/SR_KeyHighLights/LS_1962/Vol_I_LS_62.pdf. Retrieved May 6, 2007.
- ^ Alok Bhallia. Movement Against English as Official Language. http://www.ciil-ebooks.net/html/langMove/engoff.html.
- ^ Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant, VSM (February 22, 2002). "The Triumph at Tankara". Aryasamaj Online Database. http://www.aryasamaj.org/newsite/node/142. Retrieved May 6, 2007.
- ^ Poonam I. Kaushish (June 4, 2006). "Religious Conversions and Religious Freedom". The Assam Tribune. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070928043644/http://www.assamtribune.com/jun0406/edit1.html. Retrieved May 6, 2007.
- ^ "Parliament Proceedings". Indian Government. November 30, 1977. http://megassembly.gov.in/proceedings/1977/30-11-1977.htm. Retrieved May 6, 2007.
- ^ Tenzing Lamsang (April 9, 2007). "End of road for names, requests pour in". Delhi News Line. http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=230917. Retrieved May 6, 2007.
- ^ "AMC 21 is Airborne With Grandiose Plans". Tribune News Service. November 22, 2002. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20021123/ncr1.htm. Retrieved May 6, 2007.
- ^ "Photograph of L. K. Advani releasing a compilation of Prakash vir Shastri's parliamentary speeches". February 23, 2003. http://pib.nic.in/archieve/phtgalry/pgyr2003/pg022003/pg21feb2003/210220036.htm.
Categories:- Indian politicians
- People from Faizabad
- Banaras Hindu University alumni
- Railway accident deaths in India
- 2nd Lok Sabha members
- 3rd Lok Sabha members
- 4th Lok Sabha members
- 1977 deaths
- 1923 births
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
